


What's poppin'?

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Attempt at Humor, Bad Flirting, Bad Puns, Balloons, Birthday Party, First Meetings, M/M, Pre-Relationship, awkward Simon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 10:37:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10305032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: Clary had dragged him here without any explanation, mumbling something about Izzy needing help or maybe Isabelle had said that her brother needed help. Simon really didn't quite catch anything because he had been busy not falling over his own feet while being dragged Brooklyn like some dog that was unwilling to move further than its familiar route around the block.He saw neither Clary nor Isabelle right now, though, only a surprisingly not grumpy looking Alec who was currently handing out drinks to tiny humans - well, children - and Simon honestly didn't want to askhimbecause the guy kind of positively hated him for unknown reasons. Simon knew he could talk a lot, especially when he was nervous which tended to happen a lot about people that had a nerd-murdering vibe going on, but he was absolutely damn charming and that totally made up for it!





	

**Author's Note:**

> I blame [this](https://68.media.tumblr.com/8b38a30f61a098025880d64797329b58/tumblr_omu2sxIi2y1qdd99xo1_500.png) photo for the idea! Why? Because my brain is terrible and when I saw the writing in the background my thoughts jumped from imagining Rapha buying balloons for a party to...whatever happens in this story. Welcome to the magical way my thought process works :D
> 
> Also, it's 4 am already, that might have played into this nonsense as well but shush!

Life sometimes had this questionable kind of humour where you landed in some weird situation through strange ways and in the end, it either turned out better or worse than expected. For Simon, it usually ended up being the latter. He was the type of person who always drew the short straw and he was damn sure that some higher being was having a blast somewhere by causing him to stumble from one mess to the other.

Right now he, for example, he stood in the middle of a birthday party. That wouldn't actually be too weird if it wasn't for the fact that he was almost 20 and this birthday party was for a five-year-old by the name of Madzie - the adopted daughter of Magnus and Alec. What was he doing at said party? Simon was still hoping for someone to clear that up for him.

Clary had dragged him here without any explanation, mumbling something about Izzy needing help or maybe Isabelle had said that her brother needed help. Simon really didn't quite catch anything because he had been busy not falling over his own feet while being dragged Brooklyn like some dog that was unwilling to move further than its familiar route around the block.

He saw neither Clary nor Isabelle right now, though, only a surprisingly not grumpy looking Alec who was currently handing out drinks to tiny humans - well, children - and Simon honestly didn't want to ask _him_ because the guy kind of positively hated him for unknown reasons. Simon knew he could talk a lot, especially when he was nervous which tended to happen a lot about people that had a nerd-murdering vibe going on, but he was absolutely damn charming and that totally made up for it!

His gaze swept the room, looking for another person he might be able to ask about the necessity of his attendance at this tiny people birthday party and just when he decided to look for the kitchen in hopes of finding Magnus there - who didn't exactly like him as well but he would surely at least answer him in some way instead of communicating with grunts and frowns (he didn't speak _Neanderthal_ , sorry) - but some weird sound distracted him by catching his attention.

Said sound was squeaky and rubbery, and it came from somewhere in the other part of the living room. Simon rounded a corner after the noise could be heard again and it was one of these sounds that caused a shiver to run down your spine, leaving goosebumps in their wake, and just made you shiver in discomfort. A little bit like nails on a chalkboard; not as bad but pretty damn close.

Simon considered telling whoever or whatever caused the noise to stop it or simply flee the scene, seeing as nobody paid attention to him anywhere and Clary was probably making out with Izzy in one of the dozens of guest rooms, but then he spotted an angel and every other thought vanished like a popped bubble.

Before mentioned angel wasn't and actual angel, mind you, those probably didn't exist, but the guy came pretty damn close. Maybe comparing him to a Greek statue would make a little more sense, those didn't have feathers and it was less awkward than to think of some heavenly creature as _hot as hell_. Thinking of a statue as _hot_ seemed a little questionable as well, now that Simon thought about it...

Back to the _Greek Angel Guy_! It turned out that he was the one making the squeaky sound. With balloons. Not with his mouth or...otherwise with his body. _Greek Angel Guy_ was currently surrounded by four of the tiny humans, Madzie included, while he was apparently twisting one of the sausage-shaped balloons into an animal.

It was kind of hilarious to see a young man, looking like he should be in one of those fashion magazines instead of a kid's birthday party, standing there and frowning in concentration while shaping a blue balloon into a dog. At least Simon was pretty sure it was supposed to become a dog but it looked a tiny bit misshapen.

"Uncle Shane, look, I'm getting a cutsie little doggy!" Madzie beamed at him as soon as she noticed Simon stepping closer and he barely resisted the urge to breathe out a resigned sigh. He wondered if he could sue Magnus for teaching the girl a wrong name?

"Wow, that's awesome," Simon replied with a bright smile of his own because he knew correcting the girl would probably get him nowhere anyway and he had to talk to her parents about this issue, even though Simon doubted that would change anything either. Madzie was surely easier to talk sense into than the two supposed adults.

 _Greek Angel Guy_ only looked up from his work when it was finished and the smile tugging at his unfairly soft looking lips made Simon go a little weak in the knees. Sadly, the smile was meant for Madzie who bounced over to the guy to accepted her wonky, blue balloon dog-thing with a cheerful " Muchas gracias, tío Rapha", her tongue slightly stumbling over the words but the guy still smiled adorably at the little girl, patting her head with a gentle "You're very welcome, beautiful."

After Madzie scurried off with her balloon animal pressed to her chest in search of her dads to show off her newest achievement, _Greek Angel Guy_ \- Rapha? - looked up and this time straight at Simon who felt very un-straight right now because _holy shit that man was pretty_. Comparing him to a Greek statue and therefore a work of art was definitely more than suitable.

"Hey, what's poppin'?" Simon's social awkwardness, especially faced with stunning people, had a habit of deactivating his brain-to-mouth filter and that often resulted in him saying moronic things like _that_.

 _Rapha_ simply stared at him for a brief moment, unblinking, before he breathed out and simply went back to asking another kid what kind of animal they wanted. Simon wasn't too sure if he should feel relieved or insulted by being completely ignored.

"I always thought balloons for birthdays are a strange thing." Suffice it to say that Simon's defective filter did not give up that easily and he cringed inwardly at the direction this was headed now, inwardly pleading for the other guy to ignore him once more because he did not want to finish this thought.

"And why is that?"

Simon couldn't even enjoy the fact that Rapha's - it had to be _Raphael_ , right? - voice was all smooth and deep because he was about to embarrass himself even further and ruin his non-existing chances with this adonis. "Because it's like saying _happy birthday - here, have a rubber sack filled with my breath_."

Raphael looked up from the yellow balloon he was currently shaping, his eyebrows rising towards his hairline, and Simon would have actually turned around to flee the scene if it hadn't been for the tiniest hint of a smirk tugging at the other's lips.

"I didn't know they invited a clown to the party as well," Raphael commented dryly but his dark eyes clearly gave away the amusement he was obviously trying to hide and Simon pressed his lips together to contain his own grin.

"I assumed you are the clown because the balloon animals are usually their job, as far as I remember," he replied boldly and he almost made a triumphant sound when Raphael's lips curled into a more prominent smirk.

"You're welcome to take over the job. Seems like you're quite the airhead, that makes you more suitable for this."

Simon gaped at the other and then he couldn't help but start laughing, some of the nervous energy bubbling up in his chest and spilling over his lips with kind of embarrassing giggles. It was pretty unbelievable that someone like Raphael was actually kind of flirting with _him_ of all people - at least it felt like flirting but maybe Simon was reading too much into it, he was a pro at that.

Before he was able to catch a proper breath and continue this little conversation, though, he suddenly felt a hand land on his shoulder, tugging him backwards and almost causing him to stumble but he barely managed to regain his balance before he fell right on his ass in front of Raphael.

"There you are, Spock. Stop harassing my darling best friend, I need your assistance," Magnus exclaimed and basically dragged Simon out of the room. He just so managed to shout a "My name is Simon, not Spock!" in Raphael's direction, hoping the other had caught his words over the noise of the tiny human mob.

It was just a little later that Simon finally got an answer to the question why he had been dragged here when Magnus thrust a guitar into his arms and ordered him to play some nursery rhymes or at least kid-friendly songs because the actual clown that had been hired for the job hadn't shown up - resulting in Raphael, Magnus's best friend, trying his hands surprisingly well at the art of creating balloon animals and Simon having to take over the musical part of the party.

Simon had no idea how he ended up with Raphael's number in his phone - it surely wasn't thanks to the Sesame Street songs he had warbled due to the fact that he couldn't remember anything else for the life of him and Alec probably would have had his head if he dared to sing something even remotely unsuitable for 5-year-olds.

**Author's Note:**

>  _Muchas gracias, tío Rapha_ \- Thank you very much, uncle Rapha


End file.
